Lex Fest

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Arts 2 People is excited to bring you the Lexington Ave Arts and Fun Festival on the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend each year! Sunday, September 5th, 2010!

Join us in the annual FREE end-of-summer celebration of Asheville's artistic and musical communities. Three blocks of N. Lexington Ave in downtown Asheville brim with all local art, food, beer, music, street performers, and random acts of creativity.

LAAFF has become the showcase event for all types of talent on multiple stages and performance areas including rock and roll, indie pop, funk, folk, ragtime, reggae, world beats, singer-songwriters, bluegrass, old time, African drummers, clowns, magicians, contortionists, belly dancers, modern dancers, vaudeville actors, break dancers, hula hoopers, and more. LAAFF has grown over the years to become known as Asheville's largest independent street festival with upwards of 12,000 in attendance.

Asheville - LAAFF Part 1 from nan davis on Vimeo.

LAAFF is is an experience the whole family can get into. Kids will love making art, dancing, getting their faces painted and having fun all day long. Kids are also in on the act showing off their breakdancing, parading, and making music. The big "kids" will enjoy the ever popular bicycle jousting, local brews provided by the Asheville Brewers Alliance, an eclectic culinary and artistic experience, as well as the new big people game: Big Wheels for Big Kids. There will be lots of fun new vendors as well as old favorites with a ton of variety.

Created specifically for LAAFF by Co-Founder Michael Mooney, LAAFF's ever popular Bicycle Jousting is always a mainstay attraction! This is a fun and safe bike joust where contestants are armored up with foam and helmets. The sit upon bike with banana seats and wheel with elliptical hubs which make the bike bounce up and down like riding on a horse. Each contestant holds a long pole with a boxing glove on the end..If they can reach each other they try and joust the other off the bike. It is extremely fun to watch and a great activity that Michael created as an event at LAAFF. To see the gear in advance go to Pack Place's Front Gallery... will you dare to ride?

LaZoom Tour Bus has also been getting involved as a performance area! if you just want to enjoy an easier going ride... LaZoom has traveling sideshows with a variety of acts (Including Kids acts and Adult only acts) throughout the day in 40 minute loops around Asheville. This is set up as an affordable way to fundraise at LAAFFwith extra entertainment to the festival.

Various Arts Schools and organizations have in the past teamed up to create the LAAFF Kids area, including the Asheville Arts Center, Oddesey Kids School , Art Space, amongst others. There is always face painting and a chill out zone for parents with babies who may need to sit down and relax, breastfeed, or change a diaper.

Asheville - LAAFF Part 2 from nan davis on Vimeo.

As part of an ongoing commitment to improve and expand the role of the Lexington Avenue Arts Festival in the community, greening efforts and more emphasis on environmental issues will continue to increase. The core principle of being an all local event has been a foundation of the festival's efforts to support local artists, musicians, restaurants, and non-profits. For instance, using water sales as a way for local non-profits to raise funds and involving the Asheville On Bikes organization to host a bike corral, encouraging participants in the festival to ride bikes, use public transportation, and carpool to limit their impact. Reducing waste has always been an important goal, and last year composting was added to the recycling and reuse efforts. Many of the food and beverage vendors are now using compostable cups and utensils. The festival will continue to include local non-profits, especially environmental and arts organizations and hopefully will showcase renewable energy in LAAFF's to come. For more info email greening@lexfestasheville.com.

LAAFF also has a great merchandise area with LAAFF T-shirts, water bottles, Freaks of Asheville calendars, and performer merchandise. 100% of performer merch proceeds goes back to the bands themselves. There is also a silent auction to raise fund for Arts 2 People of which some donated items are avaible to see on our "silent auction" page of this website. We accepting items up through the morning of the festival each year. Email vending@lexfestasheville.com if you would like to donate.

LAAFF relies on community support to ensure our success each year. LAAFF is a volunteer driven event, with a core staff, put on by and for the community. Your tax-deductible contribution ensures the ongoing successes of this much anticipated yearly Asheville celebration.

There are many ways YOU can get involved with LAAFF:

To volunteer, email Justin at volunteer@lexfestasheville.com

Asheville - LAAFF Part 3 from nan davis on Vimeo.

Video of Unifire Theatre at LAAFF 2007 www.unifiredance.com


Sidney Barnes at LAAFF 2006